Hi everybody it's Chris Frame here I'm in Southampton. It's a cold and wet day
out here but we're going to go on board Britannia and check out the P&O
flagship. So come with me let's take a tour of Britannia.
And if you enjoy videos like this I invite you to subscribe to my channel
it's full of other videos like this one including tours of Oriana, Aurora, Queen
Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2 - and many many more.
Welcome aboard Britannia. So let's go and have a look at the first thing you might
be interested in when you board your cruise ship and that is the cabins. I
know I'm always interested to see what my cabin looks like when I get on board
the ship. Britannia is interesting because she doesn't have any standard
outside cabins in fact they're all either inside cabins with no view or
balcony cabins which you can see here. And this is because of the ship's design
where all of the cabins with a view are above the lifeboats, giving a great
deal of space for the balconies. So there are a variety of different cabin
categories including the standard balcony cabins which is configured in
different layouts, some do come with a sofa and some don't.
Britannia also has a selection of inside cabins and these are cabins that are
very similar in standards to the balconies but a little bit smaller and
don't have a view. We head up to B-Deck and the cabins start to get pretty special
here. This is the superior deluxe balcony cabin and it has a lot more space than
the standard balcony cabins. It has a separate seating area very spacious
bedroom and a beautifully appointed bathroom as well as a shower over bath, so
whether you prefer to take a shower prefer to take a bath you will be
satisfied here, in the superior deluxe cabin and category. In terms of the
Suites, well all of the suites have names that are named after old P&O and
Orient Line ships, famous ships such as the Artemis, which you could see in this
cabin. They do have more space than the standard balcony cabins and the superior
balcony cabins with a separate seating area and the couch there. As well as this
all of the cabins come with tea and coffee making facilities with the
espresso coffee machines in the Suites. So embarkation to Britannia was down
on Deck 5 on my visit to the ship and this meant that we were entering near
Explorers which is this shore tour office. Taking a turn from the entrance of the ship we
can make our way into the Oasis Spa the Oasis Spa is located on Deck 5 unlike
many cruise ships which usually have the spa up the front with a sweeping view
over the forward end of the ship, Britannia utilizes a space down in the
ship. There are still views from windows that look out onto the ocean but the spa
facility itself is extremely large and has lots of different amenities
including treatment rooms a small lecture theatre and places for people to
enjoy massages and other therapies. The location in the ship means that they can
utilize a lot of space and so it was very spacious a very well-appointed area.
Now let's head up one of Britannia's many staircases to have a look at the
dining options on board the ship...
"What's the food like?" is one of the most common questions I get when I go
cruising, particularly when I come home and talk about that cruise experience
with friends and family who might be thinking about doing their own trip.
P&O's Britannia is not going to disappoint there's a number of different choices
and what you can see here is a Peninsula Dining Room which is one of her freedom
dining options. This means that you turn up when you're ready for your meal
within the restaurant opening times, and you get seated at a table that's
available for you at that time. If you're after something more formal the Oriental
Restaurant is another option. This is a set seating option you will need to
allocate yourself to this restaurant when you make your booking by selecting
the formal or 'set seating' option when you make your reservation onboard
Britannia. This space also is beautifully decorated and both those restaurants
Peninsular and Oriental are named after the names that form the P and the O in
P&O Cruises - Peninsular and Oriental which date back to the early years of
the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Another freedom
dining option onboard Britannia is the Meridian Restaurant and here again you
can turn up to the restaurant when you are ready for your meal and get
allocated to a table that is available for you at that time. At all the
restaurants that we've shown so far have a table service;
it's a ala carte service where you choose off a detailed menu which
includes some of P&O 's favorites from its years of service as well as more
contemporary cuisine as well. If you're looking for something more casual the
Horizon Restaurant is Britannia's al fresco or buffet restaurant. This
restaurant is located high atop the ship with beautiful views from the large
windows that allow you a fantastic vista of the ocean and cruise ports that the
Britannia will be visiting.
Towards the aft end of Horizon a section can be cordoned off to form the Beach
House. The Beach House is an extra tariff restaurant that opens in the evenings, it
has its own unique menu and you can make a reservation here check out the menu
options and enjoy an extra-special dinner in this space again enjoying
those views of the ocean from the large window. Speaking of an extra-special
experience in Sindhu is one of the most famous restaurants for the P&O Cruises
fleet, it is an extra tariff restaurant that is housed on board all of the P&O
vessels and it's done to a great effect on board Britannia. Located on Deck 7, it
is a large and spacious place and specializes in Indian cuisine. The
interior is uniquely decorated in a theme that isn't found throughout the
rest of the ship so it gives us the restaurant a really good sense of space.
There's plenty of tables for two four six and eight, so you can really enjoy an
intimate dinner here or a larger gathering if you have a larger group.
Britannia offers a number of different casual and our fresco dining experiences
including the Lido Pool Grill which is an open deck restaurant where you can
get fresh to order grill food; including burgers and other snacks that you might
enjoy around the swimming pool. And then we head down to Deck 7
where you'll find another one of P&O's signature experiences. The Glass House is
done to a great effect here on Britannia being located near the 'Atrium Well' it
gives a great central location, and this restaurant specializes in pairing wines
with a very delicious menu, to create quite a nice experience. Now speaking of
unique experiences onboard the ship the Epicurean Restaurant is something that's
been added to Britannia, it was originally on the deck plans as the 'fine
dining restaurant' so it's an extra tariff space and it's a formal
experience here, in a very nice decor with views over the side of the ship
thanks those large windows.
So let's check out some of the entertainment options onboard the
Britannia, and no cruise would be the same without all the entertainment
that's available for passengers to enjoy. Britannia's signature entertainment
space is the Headliners Theater it can hold 936 people and is where you'll find
all of the high-quality production shows. There's also The Studio which is a
multifunctional multi-purpose venue. This can be used for smaller entertainment
options smaller shows as well as cooking and meal demonstrations and is also an
alternate lecture venue for Britannia's lecture program.
If cabaret shows or live comedy are more your style then you'll enjoy the Live
Lounge, located at the aft end of Deck 7. This is one of Britannia's main
evening entertainment venues, and you'll find an intimate space even though the
room is very large, and this is made possible thanks to the split-level arrangement
that they've created here, with the seating are placed throughout the room.
The back-lit wall panels and lighting gives it the sense of 'something specials
about to happen here', and you'll get drinks service from the nearby bar or a
table service before the show start. The Limelight Club is a really great idea, it
combines a live music entertainment venue with a meals and drinks servers, so
you can sit down enjoy the entertainment and have not only a drink but also
something to eat. It's a very popular place on board Britannia. Now if you're
into dancing head to The Crystal Room, the large dance floor here is extremely
popular on the sea days, particularly in the evenings and there's a drink service
as well and lots of tables and chairs for you to sit down at. Now let's head up
on deck and have a look at some of Britannia's on deck amenities. This
includes a series of swimming pools such as the Lido Pool which is located near
the Lido Grill and here you can also find afternoon tea served when the ship
is sailing in pleasant weather. Like all P&O ships, Britannia has an
ice-cream bar and it's served by Jude's ice cream.
Another one of the large swimming pools on board the ship is a Riviera Pool and
here it's located just aft of the Lido Pool with a view of Britannia's giant
blue funnel - in fact Britannia has two funnels both of them painted blue and
she was the first ship to be designed for P&O with the blue funnel color in
mind. This of course replaced the buff color funnels that had been famous for
P&O - let me know which you prefer in the comments below... The Reef is the kids
entertainment area and children and teens will really enjoy the amenities
here, not only is there a great deal of outdoor entertainment space on board the
ship for the children to enjoy but there's also indoor entertainment spaces
and cruise staff who are specially trained to look after the kids. Now although
Britannia is the largest ship in the P&O Cruises fleet she also has the smallest
swimming pool in the P&O cruises fleet - this is the Terrace Pool and it's the
smallest swimming pool I have ever seen on the passenger ship, but not to worry
Britannia has a lot of other swimming pools for you to choose from so you
won't miss out. There's another pool called The Serenity Pool it's also got its
own bar and this is located in the adults-only part of the ship near the
Retreat, on the top decks of Britannia towards the bow. And here's the Retreat
it's again an adult's only area and you'll enjoy some quiet and peace away
from the kids as well as having access to whirlpool spas. Moving back inside the
ship and there are a number of smaller function rooms that you can also enjoy/
The Ivory Suite is used for renewal of vows ceremonies as Britannia being
registered in Southampton cannot host weddings onboard.
The other small functional room on board the ship is the Marlow Suite and is named
after former P&O cruises leader, Carol Marlow.
It's used to hold small functions, small events as part of the enrichment program
as well as card games. I was really happy to see a reference to Brodie Magee Wilcox
in the name of Brodie's Bar on board Britannia. Brodie Magee Wilcox was one of
the two founders of the P&O Steam Navigation Company; he along with Arthur
Andersen formed P&O and were able to span the company across the British
Empire. Arthur Andersen is referenced on many of the P&O ships with the
Andersons Bar but on Britannia it's nice to see a reference to Brodie Magee Wilcox
with Brodies. Brodies leads through two Britannia's casino which is smaller than
you might think for a ship of this size but it does seem to be a trait on board
the P&O cruises ships, another really popular location on Britannia is the
Crow's Nest Bar the forward facing observation bar. This is a trait of P&O
Cruises ships and it was found on board P&O's Canberra - one of the most famous
ships of the P&O cruises fleet. The Crow's Nest on board Britannia is
beautifully decorated in a nautical theme. It has magnificent views over the bow
of the ship as well as the port and starboard sides and there's attentive bar
service a comfortable seating throughout this space. Perhaps the most
talked about and definitely one of the most photographed areas of Britannia is
the atrium. And that's thanks to this fantastic spire which goes down the
center of the room and creates a great focal point. This three-story atrium
spans from Deck 7 to Deck 5 and it's connected by this spiral staircase.
Throughout the atrium area you'll find a variety of different dining options
including the Java Cafe which has a view over the Atrium Well and coffee thanks
to Costa Coffee. The cafe also offers a view over a small decking area which
forms part of Britannia's promenade. Unlike most cruise ships Britannia does
not have a proper promenade deck or a boat deck of any kind. On the Deck Five
level of the atrium you'll find the art gallery which has on display art from a
number of different artists. If you make a purchase on board the ship the art will
be shipped to your home.
The Blue Bar is another one of Britannia's atrium locations and this is
a funky cocktail bar; it's very popular in the evenings onboard the ship. And the
final room we'll look at in today's video is the Market Cafe; this is located
near the embarkation and disembarkation port on the ship and as a result of this
it's very popular when you embark the ship for the first coffee of your cruise
and also as a place to wait when you're leaving Britanni. So there she is The
P&O flagship Britannia the largest ship of the P&O cruises fleet - what did
you think of Britannia from this video please let me know in the comments below.
Have you sailed onboard Britannia? Is there anything that I've missed or would
you like to share your thoughts of the ship please do in the comments. If you
did like this video please don't forget to give it a thumbs up and I invite you
to subscribe to my channel for more content like this on cruise ships, ocean
liners, maritime history and aviation. So thanks so much for watching and until
next time I hope to see you onboard.
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